Stop hating Nintendo and other New Year's resolutions

EDITOR'S NOTEfrom Jason Lomberg

What are your New Year's resolutions? Steven promises to cut a certain Kyoto-based gaming giant some slack, and he'd like to abandon his core gamer label. Don't forget to check out the Staff's New Year's resolutions.

The New Year brings a chance for a fresh start. Henceforth, I make the following solemn oaths: no more trolling and no more fanboyism. It's time to be a better gamer. These are my 2012 New Year's resolutions.

The much-maligned Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker 1. Stop hating Nintendo

I hate that I hate Nintendo. Sure, the company let me down since introducing me to video games in the early '90s, but it's time to stop pining for the Super Nintendo era that will never return. We have become distant since I bought my first PlayStation, and we've hardly spoken since the Wii's awful motion control scheme, but that doesn't mean I have the right to hate.

I scoff every time a new Zelda comes out, complaining that it won't be up to Ocarina of Time's standards. I've called series creator Shigeru Miyamoto backwards for including mute protagonists...only to grudgingly play the newest entry and admit I like it. Zelda is great, and Wind Waker has become an all-time favorite. Critics panned this cell-shaded GameCube entry prior to its release, but I love it.

So I'm quitting cold turkey. You'll get no more hate from me, big N. Bring on the Wii U; I will even stop snickering at the nonsensical name...promise.

2. Give up the "hardcore" gamer status

I admit it: I play just as much Skyrim on my flatscreen TV as Fruit Ninja on my phone. It's time to give up the hardcore prefix. I'm just a gamer like everyone else thanks to male anatomy euphemisms and bowling simulators (read: Wii bowling). This new age of waggling and "becoming the controller" makes hardcore gamers look archaic rather than part of an elite club. We're a dying breed. We're not evangelizing the casual gamers; they're converting us.

I still feel like a "real" gamer compared to my Aunt Edith and her Wii Sports, but I'm not above playing the iOS puzzler Cut the Rope. And I reserve the right to roll my eyes when Aunt E tries to explain how the Kinect is "basically virtual reality."

Kinectimals

3. End the console wars

Maybe the Mayans weren't predicting the end of their calendar system in 2012 but the end of the console conflict. It seems almost silly to swear allegiance to a single platform in this digital age of Steam and cloud storage. Competition is good, and I certainly don't want consoles to go away any time soon, but it's time to put the emotional squabbling aside. Each company has a different philosophy of business, and the services they offer are of the highest quality (though wildly different).

Some gamers prefer to champion a "winner" in the on-going conflict, but the real war is on our wallets. Instead of heralding console victories, let's extol the experiences that moved us: the cinematic feel of Uncharted, the cover system of Gears of War, or the child-like sense of adventure in Skyward Sword.

4. Get back to role-playing game basics

Putting character progression and skill trees in shooters and racing games doesn't satisfy my ravenous hunger for a true RPG; it's like eating peanuts when what you crave is red meat. But my diet in 2011 consisted mainly of quasi role-playing elements like those in Deus Ex: Human Revolution. Even Final Fantasy is no longer a conventional RPG. But this year, it's time to actually play an honest-to-goodness RPG. Now if only I could find one....

What are your gaming resolutions for 2012? And where can I find a "real" RPG?

Tags: Wii Sports, Gears of War, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim, Fruit Ninja, Cut the Rope

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Patrick Molloy

January 03, 2012

Real RPG? Umm.... Well, Ni No Kuni (PS3) looks to be a throwback JRPG style game. Also, The Last Story (Wii in UK) looks to be something that strives to take the JRPG genre in a new direction. Are those real RPGs?

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Steven Sukkau

Thank you Patrick for mentioning Ni No Kuni (do you know what the name means?) I remember seeing a preview for it a long time ago but I haven't got my hands on a copy yet, maybe that will be my first "real" rpg this year. Unfortunately I live in Canada and I'm not sure if we're ever getting The Last Story or Xenoblade :(

Also, i don't necessarily mean JRPG's, but they often aren't as watered down (with the exception of FF13)

I think Ni No Kuni means "Another World" or "Second World" in Japanese but I'm not sure.

Cool, that will make it easier to explain to my wife when she asks, "what are you playing?"

Jason Lomberg

I'll say this...if you actually enjoy Zelda games, then your initial criticism is in line with games journalists' standard operating procedure--"I didn't think that XYZ blockbuster could possibly surpass XYZ predecessor. But I was wrong!" I've read variations on that for years now.

But if you have legitimate beef with Nintendo and its properties, then there's nothing wrong with voicing your displeasure. As far as I'm concerned, the big N gets off rather easy.

For me it's less "i didn't think XYZ blockbuster could possibly surpass XYZ predecessor" and more "Nintendo is stupid because I hate motion controls." But then Skyward Sword is actually a pretty good use of the technology.

I still have beefs that may or may no be legitimate with Nintendo's philosophies, but that shouldn't stop me from playing and enjoying the latest Mario etc.

Jarrod Bell

I'm just going to keep being a gamer and enjoying games for what they are though I agree with you in dropping the hate for companies simply because they are different or moving in a direction I don't agree with. Games are about having fun and enjoying yourself, who cares what type of game it is?